At the end of July we reported on the likelihood of a price drop across the board for the Xbox 360. Today, Microsoft has finally made an official announcement confirming a $50 price reduction on the 20GB Pro SKU, bringing its new price tag to $349.99. Microsoft stressed that the new price has been announced to coincide with the launch of EA Sports' Madden NFL 08, "one of the most important mass-appeal franchises in video games."
As we stated in our previous report, the Elite SKU (120GB) has been slashed by $30, bringing it down to $449.99, and the Core SKU now has an MSRP that is $20 lower at $279.99. All prices are effective August 8th.
In addition, the special Halo 3 themed Xbox 360 that was casually mentioned by Peter Moore at this year's E3 Microsoft press conference has been assigned an estimated retail price of $399.99. The Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console will arrive in stores this September and will feature "an authentic Spartan green-and-gold finish," a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 20GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Headset, an Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit, and more.
"The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360," said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president, Global Retail Sales and Marketing Group, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of Madden NFL 08, there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360."
Madden is scheduled to launch on August 14. Microsoft has a number of great first- and third-party titles coming out this fall and holiday season, which along with the price cuts, it hopes will fuel sales. Some of these include Halo 3, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, BioShock, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and Project Gotham Racing 4, among others.
by James Brightman
source:gamedaily.com
